Primary 5-7

World War II

In Shetland

World War II in Shetland

Contents

World

War II

begins

Shetland during

WWII

Shetlanders out

fighting

The Shetland

Bus

The human cost

of the war

War is declared as Hitler

invades Poland, on page 3

What everyday life and life in

Shetland was like during

the war, on pages 4-6

Shetlanders who went out to

fight, where they went and

what they did, on page 7

The secret mission from

Shetland, on page 8

The problems Shetland faced at

the end of the war, page 9

World War II

60 million people died in World War II, and

around 40 million of these were civilians.

Adolf Hitler

Hitler, Nazi leader (‘Fuhrer’)

of Germany, wanted to control

Europe. On the 1st September

1939, he invaded Poland.

On the 3rd September,

Britain and France declared

war on Germany.

The war was fought in

Europe, Russia, North

Africa and in Asia.

Civilians are people who

aren’t in the armed forces.

Did you know?

A year before war

began, the government

handed out 40 million

gas masks.

It was too late for

Britain to help

Poland—she was

occupied by

Germany.

By the summer of 1940,

Germany had invaded Poland,

Holland, Belgium, France,

Denmark and Norway!

The second world

war ended in

1945. 3

Everyday life

Black cloth had to be

draped over windows so

planes wouldn't see you.

People had to put

blackout masks

over headlamps

on cars and

motorbikes.

In an air raid, sirens would go off

and everyone had to go into an air

raid shelter to keep safe.

Children still went to school, but as

well as their normal classes they

learned air raid drills, leaving the

classroom when the air raid sounded.

War changed day to day life for

everyone. You had to carry an

identity card to prove you were

not an enemy, and you had to

carry your gasmask at all times.

“Great excitement among the pupils today when six German

aircraft circled over the school at low altitude. They attacked a seaplane in the north harbour, in

full view of the school. The pupils were sent home

quietly as the plane continued to circle the district.”

From the Bressay School

log, 22nd November 1939

Air raid shelters in Central

School playground—this is

now Islesburgh!

Soldiers

standing

outside

Conochies!

4

Norway was occupied by Germany

in 1940, and everyone was afraid the

Nazis would attack Britain from the

North, starting with Shetland!

Shetland

Several RAF

bases were set

up at Sullom

Voe.

Shetland was an

important place in

Britain during WWII.

Shetland was between Scotland and

Norway, and acted as a good base for

British soldiers to attack enemy planes

and warships coming from Norway.

These British

soldiers stayed in

Shetland and

attacked German

Navy ships that

went by.

Shetland

Nor

way

Sw

eden

Bri

tain

Almost overnight, Shetland

welcomed over 20,000

servicemen to the isles.

Shetland men too

young or old

to be

sent away join

ed

the Home Guard

and, with the

British soldie

rs,

helped look o

ut for

enemies and kept

people safe.

This name plate washed up on

Sands of Sounds in 1940—it’s

from a British liner torpedoed

on the first day of WWII.

The Home Guard in Shetland.

Britain held fundraising

weeks during WWII—this

one at the Market Cross is

probably for war weapons

in the 1940’s.

The first German bomb

from WWII landed in

Shetland.

Nobody was

hurt by this

bomb!

5

At Home

The Home Guard, and soldiers

based in Shetland, would help keep

people safe during an air raid.

After World War I Shetlanders

found it difficult to get jobs in

Shetland—unemployment had a

saddening presence in the isles

between the two wars.

People in Shetland would

sometimes see German fighter

planes flying overhead.

The war and all the troops

placed in Shetland created

lots of jobs for Shetlanders.

Anyone in Shetland during

the war would have seen

lots of troops who were

placed there.

Many German planes that passed

over Shetland were doing training

and didn’t attack anyone.

German bombers dropped bombs

on flying boats, on foreign

boats around the isles, and

sometimes on the land too.

Whenever a German plane

was spotted, air raid

sirens started and

shelter was sought!

War job list

in Shetland

* Build military camps

* Construct and improve

the roads for military

* Lay cables

* Build airports

* Go out fishing to feed

troops

A London seaplane spotted

in Shetland, 1939

6

Out to fight

Lots of Shetland men went out

to fight with Britain in the war.

The ‘Roll of Service’ lists

over 3,300 men and women from Shetland who served in the three Armed

Forces and the Merchant Navy.

Some were soldiers in the army, some

were pilots in the air force, and many

joined the Navy. Shetlanders were

often very skilled at sea.

Many Shetlanders were

lost in WWI, and the

second world war was

no different—

Shetlander’s suffered a

higher percentage of

loss than any other

part of Britain.

Some worked on minesweepers, keeping allied

shipping lanes clear. Others worked on warships.

Some worked on merchant ships—

they were very important as they

took essential supplies of wood,

cloth and metal to Britain.

Shetlanders served on

ships and submarines all

over the world, from the

Atlantic to the Pacific.

The ‘Roll of

Honour’ lists all

357 Shetlanders

who lost their

lives as a result

of the second

world war.

Just 6 of the 357 brave

Shetlanders who died in WWII.

7

Many Shetland women went south

to help with the war effort.

Problem: the fishing boats were designed for

fishing, not for high-risk war situations.

They took weapons,

agents and instructions

over to the allies.

Sometimes they would

bring people back to

Shetland with them, to

keep them safe from

the Germans.

Over 200 trips were made across the

sea—some of the officers who sailed the

boats have become well-known for their

courage, bravery and skill.

Leif Larsen, a Norwegian man, served in the Shetland Bus mission. He made 52 journeys between Shetland and Norway,

and he is the most highly decorated allied naval officer of WWII.

Many refugees that

arrived in Shetland from

Norway stayed here for

life. Our connection

to Norway is very

important to us.

Operations were done under

cover of darkness, and mostly

in the winter—it was very

dangerous crossing the North

Sea in winter conditions!

The Shetland Bus

The boats they used were

usually fishing boats, from

Norway or Shetland—they

were disguised as working

fishing boats.

The ‘Shetland Bus’ was an

undercover mission that took

weapons and supplies to

Norway from Shetland.

One of the many agent

radios taken to Norway

by the Shetland Bus.

Leif

‘Shetland’s’

Larsen

Amazingly, no boats or crew members were lost due to

navigational error by the skipper!

The Shetland

Bus Memorial in

Scalloway

Some ‘Shetland Bus’ boats were lost when enemy planes attacked.

8

The end of the war

All the British

soldiers left

Shetland

after the war

and went

home.

On 11th November every year, we remember all of the people who died during

the first world war, the second world war, and all the other wars since.

There weren’t

many jobs for

Shetland people

after the war.

Many Shetlanders left the

isles in search of a more

promising future.

The war in the Europe ended in May, but the war in

the Pacific carried on until August—the atomic

bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. So many

lives were claimed that Japan surrendered.

The war finally

ended in 1945.

The loss of many Shetlanders during the war

meant that the population was much less.

Shetland, much like the rest of the U.K.,

hadn’t yet fully recovered from WWI.

The jobs made from

setting up military

camps and roads

were over when the

war ended.

The government tried

to help by providing

money to build houses

and aid financial worry.

Fishing, crofting,

knitting and tourism

helped Shetland a

little in the ‘60’s.

Oil was found in the North Sea in the 1970’s,

and Shetland’s economy was vastly improved. Poppies help us remember

VE day,

Gilbertson

Park

Shetland w

omen

had knitt

ed

many jumpers

for soldie

rs

during the

war.

This jumper was knitted for Ralph

Paterson by his wife. He was wearing it

when he was taken Prisoner of War in

Hong Kong. It was warm and comforting,

a precious link to loved ones at home.

9